In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the latest episodes of Alien: Earth and Peacemaker.

What do we make of the (probable) cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel? Is Peacemaker just spinning its wheels these days? Will Alien: Earth end up being the show that was promised at the beginning? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more.

Homework for next week:

• Alien: Earth Episode 8 (Hulu/FX)
• Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 6 (HBO)
• Bonus Episode: Gen V Season 2 premiere (Prime Video)

Shownotes:

• 06:05 - TV News
• Casey Bloys Talks ‘The Pitt’s Emmy Breakthrough & Putting HBO Doubts To Rest, Confirms ‘White Lotus’ S4 Location, Gives ‘HoD’ & ‘Rehearsal’ Updates
• 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Pulled From ABC / FCC Chair Threatens Jimmy Kimmel Over Charlie Kirk Monologue Comments
• 41:30 - Alien: Earth
• Episode 7 - Emergence
• 1:02:15 - Peacemaker Season 2
• Episode 5 - Back to the Suture

Links:

• Listen to Patrick’s videogame podcast, Remap Radio
• Subscribe to Patrick’s newsletter, Crossplay
• Subscribe to this podcast on YouTube
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything
• Follow David on Instagram
• Follow David on Tiktok

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In this bonus episode, David and Myles McNutt from the Episodic Medium newsletter discuss the 2025 Emmy Awards (you can watch our live broadcast on YouTube here).

Which shows came away with some of the biggest wins? What were some of the night’s biggest upsets? And did the winners deserve their awards? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more.

Links:

• Subscribe to Episodic Medium
• Follow Myles on Bluesky
• Subscribe to this podcast on YouTube
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything
• Follow David on Instagram
• Follow David on Tiktok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the latest episodes of Alien: Earth and Peacemaker.

In the future where all media is consolidated, will movies just be called disneys like they were in Cloud Atlas? Why do we think David Zaslav hasn’t begun his war against password-sharing yet? And are we looking forward to another season of Big Little Lies? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more.

Homework for next week:

• Alien: Earth Episode 7 (Hulu/FX)
• Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 5 (HBO)
• Bonus Episode: The Paper Season 1 (Peacock)

Shownotes:

• 04:05 - TV News
• Paramount Skydance Prepares Ellison-Backed Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
• Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on Why HBO Max Isn’t ‘Pushing’ Password-Sharing Crackdown Yet
• Neil Druckmann on Leaving ‘The Last of Us,’ His New Game ‘Intergalactic’ and How Involved He’ll Be on Season 3: ‘My Job Is to Stay Very High Level’ (EXCLUSIVE)
• ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 3 Officially in the Works, Sets Francesca Sloane to Write
• ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ Season 2 Delayed at Amazon
• 35:30 - Alien: Earth
• Episode 4 - The Fly
• 1:02:15 - Peacemaker Season 2
• Episode 4 - Need I Say Door
• 1:21:20 - Patrick’s reaction to Unknown Number: The High School Catfish (WITH SPOILERS)

Links:

• Listen to Patrick’s videogame podcast, Remap Radio
• Subscribe to Patrick’s newsletter, Crossplay
• Subscribe to this podcast on YouTube
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch this conversation on YouTube.

In this bonus episode of Decoding TV, David chats with Christie Bosch (AKA @thatdocumentarygirl) about the new Netflix documentary Unknown Number: The High School Catfish.

What was our overall reaction to the movie? How did we feel the film handle its subjects? And what details did the documentary leave out? Listen to hear us discuss these questions and more.

Links:

• Read The Cut’s article about these events
• Read Variety’s interview with the director
• Follow Christie on Tiktok
• Follow Christie on Instagram
• Check out Christie’s official website
• Subscribe to this podcast on YouTube
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything
• Follow David on Instagram
• Follow David on Tiktok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the latest episodes of Alien: Earth and Peacemaker.

Did The Rehearsal actually make a difference in airline safety? Is it possible to make sense of HBO’s rebranding? And why is Tom Rothman the last person who should be talking about studio execs? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more.

Homework for next week:

• Alien: Earth Episode 6 (Hulu/FX)
• Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 4 (HBO)
• Bonus Episode: The Paper Season 1 (Peacock)
• Bonus Episode: Unknown Number: The High School Catfish (Netflix)

Shownotes:

• 03:05 - TV News
• The Rehearsal may make our airlines safer after all
• The Paper renewed in advance of premiere
• White Lotus S3 will be set in France
• HBO is rebranding everything
• Tom Rothman says The Studio is not realistic
• 33:00 - Alien: Earth
• Episode 3 - In Space, No One…
• 1:05:15 - Peacemaker Season 2
• Episode 3 - Another Rick Up My Sleeve

Links:

• Listen to Patrick’s videogame podcast, Remap Radio
• Subscribe to Patrick’s newsletter, Crossplay
• Subscribe to this podcast on YouTube
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything
• Follow David on Instagram
• Follow David on Tiktok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the latest episodes of Alien: Earth and Peacemaker.

Homework for next week:

• Alien: Earth Episode 5 (Hulu/FX)
• Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 3 (HBO)

Shownotes:

03:05 - TV News

• Duffer Brothers Deal at Paramount
• Streaming Access News:
• Amazon, NBCU Make Peacock Available Via Prime Video Sign-Up
• Apple TV+ Price Hike
• Harry Potter News
• New ‘Harry Potter’ Child Actors Should Stay Off Social Media
• Chris Columbus Potter remake
• Nic Pizzolatto-adjacent news segment
• Netflix Nic Pizzolatto Show in Bidding War (Exclusive)
• Cage in Talks to Star in HBO’s ‘True Detective’ Season 5

42:00 - Alien: Earth

• Episode 3 - Metamorphosis

1:13:20 - Peacemaker Season 2

• Episode 2 - A Man Is Only As Good As His Bird

Links:

• Listen to Patrick’s videogame podcast, Remap Radio
• Subscribe to Patrick’s newsletter, Crossplay
• Subscribe to this podcast on YouTube
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything
• Follow David on Instagram
• Follow David on Tiktok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Decoding TV bonus episode, David and Patrick discuss the season 2 premiere of Peacemaker, “The Ties that Grind.”

The first season of Peacemaker emerged in a totally different era of the DCU. This new season straddles the line between them. How well does it pull this off? How do the themes of the episode mirror what’s going on in the DCU? And do we think you should watch Peacemaker with your children? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more.

Links:

• Listen to Patrick’s videogame podcast, Remap Radio
• Subscribe to Patrick’s newsletter, Crossplay
• Subscribe to this podcast on YouTube
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything
• Follow David on Instagram
• Follow David on Tiktok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Patrick discuss what’s going on in the world of TV, then dive into the third episode of Alien: Earth.

What do we think of MSNBC’s rebrand to MS Now? Is it a bad sign that Ben Stiller won’t be directing season 3 of Severance? Can YouTubers like Mark Rober successfully make the move to Netflix? And how is Alien: Earth shaping up as a series? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more.

Homework for next week:

• Alien: Earth Episode 4 (Hulu/FX)
• Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 1 (HBO)
• Bonus Ep: Smoke Season 1 (Apple TV+)

Shownotes:

• 09:22 - TV News
• MSNBC Rebrand to ‘MS NOW’ Draws Derision, Confusion
• Ben Stiller Won’t Direct ‘Severance’ Season 3, Plans World War II Survival Movie: ‘You Only Have So Much Time’
• Mark Rober and Netflix team up for competition series
• ‘Dept. Q’ Renewed for Second Season at Netflix
• ‘Fallout’ Season 2 Sets December Premiere; First Look Photos Show the Ghoul in New Vegas
• 46:30 - Alien: Earth
• Episode 3 - Metamorphosis

Links:

• Listen to Patrick’s videogame podcast, Remap Radio
• Subscribe to Patrick’s newsletter, Crossplay
• Subscribe to this podcast on YouTube
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything
• Follow David on Instagram
• Follow David on Tiktok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch the video version of this podcast.

This podcast contains SPOILERS for The Rehearsal Season 2 on HBO.

The Rehearsal Season 2 chronicles Nathan Fielder’s attempts to understand why aviation accidents happen. According to Fielder, one major factor is that pilots are unwilling to communicate candidly with each other, especially when they disagree or have bad news to deliver.

To test this theory, Fielder used his resources from The Rehearsal to create a fictional(?) aviation-themed singing competition called Wings of Voice. In this competition, pilots judged singers performances, advanced the ones they liked, and were forced to break the bad news to some contestants that they were eliminated. The idea was that by forcing them to break singers’ hearts, the process would reveal something about what it takes to be a good communicator.

I used a “(?)” next to “fictional” above because even though contestants on Wings of Voice were occasionally made the butt of the joke on The Rehearsal and the competition never aired as its own TV show, the winner of the competition still received something of value: the privilege of performing a song for HBO’s audience on national television.

Today I’m speaking with the winner of that competition, Isabella Henao. As a fellow musician, I thought Henao crushed her performance of Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life” in the culminating moments of season two. And as someone who is endlessly fascinated by how much of Fielder’s stunts are “real,” I was thrilled to get an insider’s perspective on what it’s like to go through Fielder’s shenanigans as they happen. Henao spoke with me about what it was like to go through the audition process, what contestants were actually told about what was happening, what other contestants’ thought about the whole thing, and how being on The Rehearsal changed her life.

This interview has been edited and condensed for brevity and clarity. To listen to a fuller version of the conversation, check out the podcast/video above. If you want to learn more about Isabella, check out her website.

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In this episode of the Decoding TV podcast, David and Matt Goldberg discuss what we think of the Alien franchise is at this point in popular culture. Then, we review and recap the first two episodes of Alien: Earth on FX/Hulu.

What did we think of the bold new premise for the show? Does it look like they spent $250 million to bring this to life? (Yes). What did we make of the fact that the show splits its attention between two major plotlines? And what about all the information that’s revealed about the main characters in the first two episodes? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more.

Be sure to check out Matt’s written review for Decoding TV.

Homework for next week:

• Alien: Earth Episode 3 (FX/Hulu)

Shownotes:

• 01:30 - What we think of the state of the Alien franchise
• 15:00 - Alien: Earth
• Episode 1 - Neverland
• Episode 2 - Mr. October

Links:

• Check out Matt’s newsletter, Commentary Track
• Subscribe to this podcast on YouTube
• Follow this podcast on Instagram
• Follow this podcast on Tiktok
• Subscribe to David’s free newsletter, Decoding Everything
• Follow David on Instagram
• Follow David on Tiktok

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.